The Cellar - View Single Post

glatt · 01-22-2008, 11:21 AM

I had a similar but is sounds like a milder problem back in my 20's. I was in college, and the dorm floors were co-ed, as were the bathrooms. I never felt comfortable doing my business in those co-ed bathrooms, and as a result I would hold it too long. This meant I always ended up needing to pass a brick. One day, I had swelling "down there." I know. TMI.

I checked out a book from the college library that was all about hemorrhoids and why they form and what to do about them. Awesome that they had one. Unfortunately, the book didn't really have any good answers for the short term about how to get rid of them. The one thing in addition to what you are doing that the book mentioned, and that worked somewhat for me, was pushing gently on the swollen tissue (with TP) to get the blood out of it, and put it back where it belongs. Might work for you, might not.

After a while, (couple weeks?) things healed, but I made a real effort to fix the long term habits that I had formed that were the underlying cause of the problems.

1. Most important, don't ever hold it. If you have to go, go. The longer you hold it, the more it will hurt when it comes out, because the more the large intestine will dry it out. This was the most difficult change to make, because for years I had been holding it all day in school because I didn't want to use the public school bathrooms. Then the same in college. It was a bad habit. Follow the lead of your kids. When they need to go, they need to go right now. They are smarter than you. They listen to their bodies. You should do what they do. This may be the hardest change, because it means actually paying attention to the signals that you have probably been suppressing for years.

2. Don't push to get it to come out. It's supposed to be about as effortless as swallowing is. Just relax and allow nature to do its job. Don't push. Remember what happened to Elvis when he pushed.

3. If you think you have to push, do it as little as possible, and don't hold your breath while pushing. Both pushing and holding your breath while pushing increase the blood pressure in the tissue surrounding your anus, and the blood isn't able to vacate the anus like it's supposed to while the anus stretches to let the poop out. This is important. The blood needs to vacate the anus tissue so it can stretch properly. If it doesn't, something has to give. And it will hurt. So relax and breathe. Just let it happen.

4. Try to get into a regular routine of going to the bathroom each day at the same time, it will make it easier for your body to do what it has to do if it has a routine, and will make it easier for you to recognize the signals your body is sending you if they come the same time every day.

5. Eat lots of fiber each and every day. The fiber traps water and the large intestine can't wring the water out of the fiber. It keeps things soft. In this case, soft is your friend.

6. Drink more water. Same reason.

7. Get exercise. (All this stuff is sounding very familiar isn't it? Why is it always "eat healthy and exercise?") If you exercise more, the arteries will be more flexible and the tissue surrounding the anus will be able to stretch more easily.

Basically, the trouble is that even when you implement all of these things, none of them will instantly fix the immediate problem facing you, it will take time. The real benefit is that these steps will keep the problem from happening again once you are healed. I followed these steps (not so much the exercise one) and I haven't had this problem since my 20's and I'm as regular as clockwork now.

01-22-2008, 11:21 AM	#2
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I had a similar but is sounds like a milder problem back in my 20's. I was in college, and the dorm floors were co-ed, as were the bathrooms. I never felt comfortable doing my business in those co-ed bathrooms, and as a result I would hold it too long. This meant I always ended up needing to pass a brick. One day, I had swelling "down there." I know. TMI. I checked out a book from the college library that was all about hemorrhoids and why they form and what to do about them. Awesome that they had one. Unfortunately, the book didn't really have any good answers for the short term about how to get rid of them. The one thing in addition to what you are doing that the book mentioned, and that worked somewhat for me, was pushing gently on the swollen tissue (with TP) to get the blood out of it, and put it back where it belongs. Might work for you, might not. After a while, (couple weeks?) things healed, but I made a real effort to fix the long term habits that I had formed that were the underlying cause of the problems. 1. Most important, don't ever hold it. If you have to go, go. The longer you hold it, the more it will hurt when it comes out, because the more the large intestine will dry it out. This was the most difficult change to make, because for years I had been holding it all day in school because I didn't want to use the public school bathrooms. Then the same in college. It was a bad habit. Follow the lead of your kids. When they need to go, they need to go right now. They are smarter than you. They listen to their bodies. You should do what they do. This may be the hardest change, because it means actually paying attention to the signals that you have probably been suppressing for years. 2. Don't push to get it to come out. It's supposed to be about as effortless as swallowing is. Just relax and allow nature to do its job. Don't push. Remember what happened to Elvis when he pushed. 3. If you think you have to push, do it as little as possible, and don't hold your breath while pushing. Both pushing and holding your breath while pushing increase the blood pressure in the tissue surrounding your anus, and the blood isn't able to vacate the anus like it's supposed to while the anus stretches to let the poop out. This is important. The blood needs to vacate the anus tissue so it can stretch properly. If it doesn't, something has to give. And it will hurt. So relax and breathe. Just let it happen. 4. Try to get into a regular routine of going to the bathroom each day at the same time, it will make it easier for your body to do what it has to do if it has a routine, and will make it easier for you to recognize the signals your body is sending you if they come the same time every day. 5. Eat lots of fiber each and every day. The fiber traps water and the large intestine can't wring the water out of the fiber. It keeps things soft. In this case, soft is your friend. 6. Drink more water. Same reason. 7. Get exercise. (All this stuff is sounding very familiar isn't it? Why is it always "eat healthy and exercise?") If you exercise more, the arteries will be more flexible and the tissue surrounding the anus will be able to stretch more easily. Basically, the trouble is that even when you implement all of these things, none of them will instantly fix the immediate problem facing you, it will take time. The real benefit is that these steps will keep the problem from happening again once you are healed. I followed these steps (not so much the exercise one) and I haven't had this problem since my 20's and I'm as regular as clockwork now.